Chicago Bulls (AFL)
Encyclopedia
The Chicago Bulls were a professional American football
team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926
. Owned by Joey Sternaman
(brother of Chicago Bears
co-owner Dutch Sternaman), the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle
and Red Grange
as shareholders (Pyle and Grange were also the co-owners of the New York Yankees
and the Los Angeles Wildcats
of the AFL). Joey Sternaman was also the coach and blocking back
for the Bulls throughout their brief existence.
The newly-minted Bulls had adverse effects on the more established NFL. First, the Bulls leased Comiskey Park
, forcing the Bears to play in the (older and much smaller) Normal Field. Second, the Bulls made an offer for Chicago Cardinals star Paddy Driscoll
that the reigning NFL champions
could not match (Cardinals owner Chris O’Brien
arranged a trade with the Bears, who did match the Bulls' offer to Driscoll, keeping him in the established league but knocking the Cardinals out of championship contention). Failing to sign Driscoll, the Bulls built up their roster by signing up men who played their college football in the American Midwest.
Despite playing in front of 16,000 people in their first home game (against the Yankees on October 17, 1926), the Bulls were generally a poor attraction despite the star power of All-Pro
Joey Sternaman. Most of the Bulls games – both at home and away – were played in front of 4000 people or fewer. Attendance at Bulls games were often a reflection of the drawing power of their opponents. The team’s first game (at Newark
) was played in front of only 2000 people in Davids' Stadium on September 26; the Bulls played the last three official games of the American Football League: in front of 15,000 in Yankee Stadium on November 28 against the Yankees, in front of 3000 in Comiskey Park on December 5 against the Wildcats, and in front 8000 in Comiskey Park on December 12 against the Yankees. With the conclusion of the last game, the AFL – and the Chicago Bulls – became history, and Sternaman returned to the Chicago Bears.
7-3 victory over the Bulls in Comiskey Park on December 12, 1926, the first AFL was officially dead. Although Joey Sternaman was the official owner of the team, the bills were paid by C. C. Pyle, who decided to cut his losses by dissolving his (and Red Grange’s) interest in the team as the Yankees and the Wildcats went on a barnstorming tour of the American South and West Coast
. As a result, the Bulls were no more viable as an entity than the AFL. Its fate was officially sealed when Sternaman returned to the Chicago Bears and the Yankees entered the National Football League
(with New York Giants
owner Tim Mara
technically the owner in a lease arrangement for the defunct Brooklyn Lions franchise).
As Sternaman continued his Hall of Fame
career, he was not the only former Chicago Bull to join a NFL team’s roster after the dissolution of the AFL:
Mush Crawford
– 1927 New York Yankees
John Fahay
– 1929 Minneapolis Red Jackets
Aubrey Goodman – 1927 Chicago Cardinals
Ojay Larson – 1929 Chicago Bears, 1929 Chicago Cardinals
Dick Stahlman
– 1929 & 1930 New York Giants, 1931-1932 Green Bay Packers
, 1933 Chicago Bears
Red Strader
– 1927 Chicago Cardinals (later became head coach for the 1948-1949 New York Yankees (AAFC)
, 1950-51 New York Yanks
(NFL), and 1955 San Francisco 49ers
)
Jim Tays – 1927 Dayton Triangles
, 1930 Newark Tornadoes, 1930 Staten Island Stapletons
Buck White – 1927-1929 Chicago Bears
While Garland Buckeye’s
professional football career ended with the folding of the Bulls, his major league baseball
career continued, pitching
for the Cleveland Indians
in 1927-1928 and the New York Giants
in 1928.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926
1926 American Football League season
The 1926 American Football League season is the only season of the existence of the first American Football League. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, Ohio, but by the end of the season , only four teams were still in...
. Owned by Joey Sternaman
Joey Sternaman
Joey Sternaman was a former professional American football player, born in Springfield, Illinois, who played quarterback for nine seasons for the Chicago Bears and Duluth Kelleys. In 1926, he was the quarterback, head coach, and owner of the Chicago Bulls of the first American Football League...
(brother of Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
co-owner Dutch Sternaman), the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle
C. C. Pyle
Charles C. "C. C." Pyle , often called Cash and Carry Pyle, was a Champaign, Illinois theater owner and sports agent who represented American football star Red Grange and French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen...
and Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
as shareholders (Pyle and Grange were also the co-owners of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
and the Los Angeles Wildcats
Los Angeles Wildcats
The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois...
of the AFL). Joey Sternaman was also the coach and blocking back
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Bulls throughout their brief existence.
The newly-minted Bulls had adverse effects on the more established NFL. First, the Bulls leased Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
, forcing the Bears to play in the (older and much smaller) Normal Field. Second, the Bulls made an offer for Chicago Cardinals star Paddy Driscoll
Paddy Driscoll
John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll was a professional American football quarterback. Driscoll was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and is a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team...
that the reigning NFL champions
1925 NFL season
The 1925 NFL season was the 6th regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team...
could not match (Cardinals owner Chris O’Brien
Chris O'Brien (American football)
Christopher O'Brien, was a painting and decorating contractor as well as a pro football franchise owner. He is mostly known as the owner of the Chicago Cardinals, and is known as the “Father of Professional Football in Chicago,”...
arranged a trade with the Bears, who did match the Bulls' offer to Driscoll, keeping him in the established league but knocking the Cardinals out of championship contention). Failing to sign Driscoll, the Bulls built up their roster by signing up men who played their college football in the American Midwest.
Despite playing in front of 16,000 people in their first home game (against the Yankees on October 17, 1926), the Bulls were generally a poor attraction despite the star power of All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
Joey Sternaman. Most of the Bulls games – both at home and away – were played in front of 4000 people or fewer. Attendance at Bulls games were often a reflection of the drawing power of their opponents. The team’s first game (at Newark
Newark Bears (AFL)
The Newark Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by the New Jersey Athletic Association , the Bears played their home games in Davids' Stadium...
) was played in front of only 2000 people in Davids' Stadium on September 26; the Bulls played the last three official games of the American Football League: in front of 15,000 in Yankee Stadium on November 28 against the Yankees, in front of 3000 in Comiskey Park on December 5 against the Wildcats, and in front 8000 in Comiskey Park on December 12 against the Yankees. With the conclusion of the last game, the AFL – and the Chicago Bulls – became history, and Sternaman returned to the Chicago Bears.
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5th | Joey Sternaman Joey Sternaman Joey Sternaman was a former professional American football player, born in Springfield, Illinois, who played quarterback for nine seasons for the Chicago Bears and Duluth Kelleys. In 1926, he was the quarterback, head coach, and owner of the Chicago Bulls of the first American Football League... |
After the first AFL
Upon the completion of a New York Yankees'New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
7-3 victory over the Bulls in Comiskey Park on December 12, 1926, the first AFL was officially dead. Although Joey Sternaman was the official owner of the team, the bills were paid by C. C. Pyle, who decided to cut his losses by dissolving his (and Red Grange’s) interest in the team as the Yankees and the Wildcats went on a barnstorming tour of the American South and West Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
. As a result, the Bulls were no more viable as an entity than the AFL. Its fate was officially sealed when Sternaman returned to the Chicago Bears and the Yankees entered the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(with New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner Tim Mara
Tim Mara
Timothy James "Tim" Mara was the founder and administrator for the New York Giants of the National Football League. The Giants', under Mara, would win NFL championships in 1934, 1938, and 1956 and divisional titles in 1933, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1958, 1959.-Early life:Mara was born into poverty...
technically the owner in a lease arrangement for the defunct Brooklyn Lions franchise).
As Sternaman continued his Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
career, he was not the only former Chicago Bull to join a NFL team’s roster after the dissolution of the AFL:
Mush Crawford
Mush Crawford
Mush Crawford was a guard in the National Football League. Crawford first played with the Chicago Bears during the 1925 NFL season. During the 1927 NFL season he played with the New York Yankees. He also had been a member of the Chicago Bulls of the American Football League during the 1926...
– 1927 New York Yankees
John Fahay
John Fahay
John Fahay is a former player in the National Football League. He was a member of the Milwaukee Badgers during the 1925 NFL season before playing the following season with the Racine Tornadoes during the 1926 NFL season. That same year he was also a member of the Chicago Bulls of the American...
– 1929 Minneapolis Red Jackets
Aubrey Goodman – 1927 Chicago Cardinals
Ojay Larson – 1929 Chicago Bears, 1929 Chicago Cardinals
Dick Stahlman
Dick Stahlman
Dick Stahlman was an American football offensive lineman. He played seven seasons in the National Football League and one season in the first American Football League....
– 1929 & 1930 New York Giants, 1931-1932 Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, 1933 Chicago Bears
Red Strader
Red Strader
Norman "Red" Strader was a football player and coach who served in both capacities at the collegiate and professional levels. In the college ranks, he spent two years as head coach at St...
– 1927 Chicago Cardinals (later became head coach for the 1948-1949 New York Yankees (AAFC)
New York Yankees (AAFC)
The New York Yankees were a professional American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. The team played in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and often played in front of sold-out crowds . They were owned by Dan Topping, who brought many of his Brooklyn...
, 1950-51 New York Yanks
New York Yanks
The New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City...
(NFL), and 1955 San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
)
Jim Tays – 1927 Dayton Triangles
Dayton Triangles
The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north...
, 1930 Newark Tornadoes, 1930 Staten Island Stapletons
Staten Island Stapletons
The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1930. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten Island. Under the shortened nickname the "Stapes"...
Buck White – 1927-1929 Chicago Bears
While Garland Buckeye’s
Garland Buckeye
Garland Maiers "Gob" Buckeye is a former professional football and baseball player.-Baseball:...
professional football career ended with the folding of the Bulls, his major league baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
career continued, pitching
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in 1927-1928 and the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
in 1928.